The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-04-24
LONDON BUSINESS METHODS.
Odd Things and Methods in the Way Lon.
doners Transact Rusiness.


Odd Things and Methods in the Way Lon
doners Transact Business.
Correspondence of the Indianapolis Journa..
LONDON, April $50 the American. the
methods of conducting business in London
seem slow and ANTICIPATED. There is evil
dent desire on the part of many large firms to
make the transaction of business difficult in
stead of easy. There is an outer inquiry office,
at which you must give your name 20 clerk,
who often intimates by his looks that he Is con-
ferring favor by taking it; the name is passed
on to an inner Office and You are probably told
TO take a seat in reception room, until the
principals at liberty to see you All this
contrasts strongly with the accessibility of bust
ness men in America
The greatest caution is exercised in the open
ing of new accounts. Before you can buy goods
you must first either be introduced by an old
customer or establish your responsibility and
solvency. If you step into large bank liz Lon
don, and put your money on the counter and ask
to buy draft on New York, Berlin or Paris. you
will be told that they do not know You, and can
only sell drafts to their regular customers or to
people introduced by them. There is no ques
ton that the money you offer is not good, but
they do not know You. 1 was once years ago.
refused draft in bank in which / had a spe-
cal deposit of money at interest, and, notwith-
standing / brought the clerk from the special
deposit department of the bank to vouch for m y
identity. the draft clerk told me. ''Ah, yesi you
have special deposit in that department, but
special deposits are received from any one with
out introduction: and really, since you have
never been introduced to the bank, you are still
IN the position OF stranger to US, and we can
not sell you the draft
Another banking custom that seems strange
to US is that oper cheques tnct 'crossed") are
paid to strangers without Identification. If you
have a cheque payable to John Jones' or order,
the bank does not require that you be identified
as John Jones. but you present the cheque, in
dorse your name, John Jones' on the back, and
receive the money in bills or gold. But most
cheques crossed" and not .'open cheques"
and you cannot get the payment of crossed
cheque by presenting it personally at the bank,
20 matter how much you may be identified To
"cross' cheque. you draw two parallel lines
across the face of it, and write between them
either the name of the bank with whom the per-
son to whom the cheQue is payable intends to
deposit it, or simply the terminal words. "l&
Co.." any cheque so crossed" must be deposited
in bank for collection, and presented by
bank messenger for payment. This crossing of
cheques thus forms almost absolute safe
guard against payment to the wrong parsons.
1t might be adopted with advantage IN other
&C untries
Some of the London banks have deposits of
one hundred and one hundred and fifty million
dollars but this is the total of deposits of the
main bank in the City of London" of its dozen
or more of branches in larger London and its
thirty or forty country branches, so that to COM
pare the deposits of the largest London banks
with those of the largest New York banks would
hardly be fair. unless you added to the deposits
of the New York banks the deposits of all their
correspondent banks.
This principle of subsidiary branches is car
red through many other busiress Some of
the clothing and furnishing houses, the grocers
and provision dealers, tea merchants, fruit
Stores dyers and cleaners, restaurants, book
sellers and statiouers, have from six to twenty
branch establishments. Oftentmes you find two
or three shops the street belonging to the
same firm. 1t is said that a shop any of the
main thoroughfares in London can afford to cheat
every customer. because the crowd OF strangers
passing the door will continue to furnish new
victims year after year. 1t may be that expert
ence proves that, when the number Of people
passing is so great that the opening of one or
two new shops in the same street. by the same
firm, does not affect the business of the old
house. But many old firms cling to the old and
often Gingy premises long after they have out
grown them. Age in London is the great badge
of responsibility. "Old established" business
established over fifty years" or "one hundred
years" is seen in shop-fronts almost as often as
ITO the Queen" "Patronized by the Royal
family" For this reason you find some of the
largest firms in the city in the little alleys, lanes
or courts. where they first started. The great
house of Rothschd is in New court, St. Swith-
ms lane and you might easily pass it by without
notice
Another popularity that strikes an American
is the absence of elevators lifts as the English
call them in the Office buildings. Only few
Office buildings are supplied with lifts, and a
building we'll supplied the mills" building
or 1.-THE Boreel." with both light and elevators
would be novelty in London. But the chief
objections that Americans find with London
and It's business methods is that time seems of
no value whatever Tomorrow, next week or
next month will do just as well as day for the
London man. He is in no hurry. He plays a
waiting game. All roads and all schemes
come to London, and sooner or later
he will take his toll. So much
business comes to him without effort
through channels established by his ancestors
that he makes little effort to attract new bust
ness. More than one-half the world use London
as clearing house. Even New York must pay
for South American produce in pounds. shilngs
and pence through London bank. But other
money centers are becoming rivals of London.
Financial Berlin, Paris and New York grow
strong at the expense of this old mistress and
tyrant of the money world. The day will come
whe- the younger rivals with greater energy,
and a willingness to adapt their methods to the
changed times. will compel London to take a
second place, or thoroughly reform her methods.
A Mare with a Wooden Leg.